A clothing bin is a
container in which
clothing is placed to be donated to
charity organizations (e.g., the
Salvation Army or
The Smith Family) or for
recycling in other ways. They can be provided by
local authorities or the charities themselves but sometimes only bear the name of a charity through a licensing or revenue sharing agreement.[1] The majority of clothing bins in Chicago, for instance, are for-profit.[2] In 2015, a collection company in
Yonkers was fined $700,000 for not disclosing the for-profit nature of their bin.[3]
Bins are often
vandalised or filled with unsuitable materials (including
rubbish). These are costly for the organizations concerned to dispose of, and this misuse has at times led to bins being withdrawn.[4] On-the-spot
fines are often threatened through
signs on the bins. In 2022, authorities in
Sydney, Australia reported that they had so far collected $70,750 in fines from a single bin in
Bondi Beach.[5] A woman in
Stourport,
United Kingdom was fined £400 for leaving bags outside a bin which did not have a warning sign but had her fine changed to a caution after she appealed.[6]
Homeless people have been known to climb into donation bins for shelter or to retrieve items but the most common bin design makes this dangerous.[7][8][9] Eight such deaths were recorded in Canada between 2015 and 2019 and "easily a dozen" occurred in the United States over the preceding decade.[10][11]